Inside the Wave Pool Where the Navy Tests Its Warships

A visitor's guide to the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

The recently renovated Naval Surface Warfare Center's "maneuvering and seakeeping" (MASK) basin simulates wave conditions to test the stability and control of scale models up to 30 feet in length so the Navy can predict how the full-scale vessels will perform on the ocean. The improvements to the Carderock, Md., facility—which has been testing the seaworthiness of warships and subs since 1962—mean that MASK can generate a multitude of different kinds of waves, at any angle, and with 99 percent precision. The results provide far more realistic conditions than its predecessor. It can also now be used to explore new ways to extract energy from ocean waves, to test breakwaters and beach-protection architecture, and to fine-tune emergency helicopter landings. The pool's first tests are scheduled for this year.

Ryan Hanyok/U.S. Navy

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(Photo by Ryan Hanyok/U.S. Navy)

1. Basin

MASK has a depth of 20 feet, except for one 50-foot-wide swath with a depth of 35 feet, which is used to test oil rigs and other stationary platforms. Approximately 12 million gallons of water slosh around inside the basin, which is as long as a football field and nearly 1.5 times as wide.

2. Waves

The wave boards can generate waves up to 4 feet high. For a scale model, that height simulates the very worst conditions on the high seas.

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3. Bridge

Spanning the entire length of the pool, the bridge has a tow carriage on its underside that can pull a model ship around the basin at a speed of up to 15 knots.

4. Lights

Lighting is kept to a minimum so algae won't grow and clog up the pool.

6. Wave Boards

Ocean waves vary in different parts of the world and at different depths. Fingerlike paddles— 216 in all—operate individually to simulate a variety of waves found in nature.

7. Shore

A shoreline made of angled concrete slabs absorbs and dissipates energy—much the way a natural beach helps quiet waves—between test runs.